About us

International House World Organization is now one of the world’s major language school networks. When John and Brita Haycraft established the organisation in 1953, they main aim was to organise communicative and practical courses with professional, motivated and dedicated teachers. Nowadays, IHWO is present in 52 countries with 160 schools, who all work closely together. They help each other via the sharing of the up-to-date teaching methodologies, the distribution of new professional materials and even the movement of teaching staff.

A success story built over decades

Our story is a testament to dedication and innovation: for decades, we’ve been helping students and teachers on their journey of growth. Discover the moments that shaped the success of International House and continue to influence it today.

1953

In 1953, John and Brita Haycraft founded the International House World Organisation to create language courses led by professional teachers, focusing on communication and practical experience.

1983

International House Budapest opened its doors as the first Central and Eastern European member school.

1999

Our successful travel agency has since opened, and the world has opened up for our clients! We now have more than 40 partners waiting for our students in more than 20 countries around the world!

2010

We have expanded our range of languages, and now you can learn 12+ foreign languages ​​at our language school.

2024

Today, we have become a globally recognized international language school, with over 160 member institutions across 52 countries worldwide.

Business English

We’re proud to work with a wide range of respected business partners — many of them are among the country’s leading companies and institutions. Our clients include top names from the IT sector, the pharmaceutical industry, and the construction field, as well as key players in government and finance.
Whether it’s a long-term collaboration or a new partnership, we’re committed to delivering high-quality, tailored services that meet — and often exceed — the expectations of our clients.

In House-Courses

At International House we offer a wide range of courses — from private lessons and general language groups to exam prep — all designed with flexibility and communication in mind. Thanks to our online platform, students from anywhere in the world can join, making our international community even more diverse.

Our teachers are experienced, native or native-level english speakers from around the globe, committed to high-quality teaching.

We combine modern methods, engaging materials, and ongoing teacher training to ensure our lessons are interactive, up-to-date and effective — both online and in person.

As members of NYESZE we undergo regular quality checks and meet strict professional standards — ensuring reliable, high-quality language teaching.

 

Our method

Innovative and student-focused

We use modern materials, interactive tools, and flexible methods to make learning engaging. Whether online or in-person, we help students achieve their language goals effectively.

A tradition of excellence

Our courses invite you to take an active role — getting involved in tasks, discussions and hands-on activities, rather than just listening passively. With exciting challenges and engaging, real-world topics, you’ll keep learning, growing and feeling motivated every step of the way.

Professional teachers, proven quality

Our native or native-level teachers are highly trained and regularly evaluated to ensure the highest standards. Weekly seminars and rigorous oversight guarantee top-quality lessons.

Why International House Budapest?

Whether you’re coming to Budapest in person or doing one of our courses online, IH Budapest is a great place to do a teacher training course. Here are seven reasons why this is the place to do a TEFL course:

Value for money

Hungary’s low cost of living allows us to offer some of the most competitive Celta fees globally.

Quality assured

With decades of experience since 1988, we’re renowned for top-tier teacher training, shaping ELT professionals and philosophies.

Consistency

Our dedicated, year-round training team ensures a clear and unified approach, blending expertise with diverse teaching styles.

Employment opportunities

Leverage our reputation, local insights, and global network of 154 schools in 54 countries to kickstart your teaching career.

Personalized support

From inquiry to graduation and beyond, we provide tailored guidance to meet your needs every step of the way.

Dynamic learning context

Train in a vibrant center offering Celta, Delta, and advanced post-Celta courses, surrounded by a thriving teaching community.

Get to know our team

Meet the passionate professionals who drive our mission and make your learning experience exceptional.

David Juhasz
Managing Director and Director of Teacher Training
My first experience of teaching came as a high school student helping my fellow classmates understand Present Perfect a little more, and from that moment onwards I fell in love with the English language and language teaching. I hold a Cambridge DELTA, multiple Master’s degrees, and I’m a PhD Candidate in Language Education. During my 10-year stint abroad I was awarded multiple scholarships (Erasmus+, Erasmus Work Placement, Fulbright), held every role imaginable in a language school, became a CELTA and DELTA trainer, worked as an IELTS Senior Examiner, etc. and spent a considerable amount of time in the summer school industry where I won awards. I’m very excited to manage IH Budapest as a company now as I completed my CELTA here a very long time ago – guess that’s what you call completing the full circle!

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Borbála Szőcs
Teacher Training Operations Manager
You might know me as Borka and I work on the administration side of the department. I’ve been working in the Teacher Training team for a couple of years now and still enjoy the relaxed and friendly yet highly professional environment here in the school. If you come to IH Budapest, be prepared to be tempted to stay in the city or even (who knows?) to join the teaching staff one day… There is a great social life in the school and a lot to discover in Budapest which attracts a lot of people: the beautiful architecture, pubs, great cultural events, festivals, concerts of every style and for me on top of all of it, it’s a fantastic place to do various outdoor activities in every season of the year!

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Vanja Glavaski
Teacher Trainer – CELTA
Hi, I’m Vanja. I’m originally from Serbia, but I’ve lived, studied and worked in Serbia, the US and Hungary. These days, with mostly online work, I generally share my time between beautiful Szentendre, Hungary and amazing Pula, Croatia. I’ve been working for IH Budapest for over a decade as a teacher trainer, mostly on the CELTA, but also on shorter courses. Other than that, I’ve done numerous teacher-training webinars for different companies and held workshops at ESL conferences. Beside teaching and teacher training, I have background in literary translation, I am a Cambridge speaking examiner and, of course, I teach ESL, which I enjoy very much. One of my particular interests is using technology in education and I strive to continuously develop in that and other professional fields.

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Luca Tenyi
Teacher Trainer – CELTA
Having spent the better part of 15 years in the UK and working as a teacher and teacher trainer (with some breaks that somehow always involved IH Budapest) I find there is a certain something about this school that keeps drawing me back. I have now permanently moved home to freelance from here and I am very excited to reacquaint with my native city and equally excited about being part of the Teacher Training team.

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Eszter Szenttornyai
Teacher Trainer – CELTA
Hi, I’m Eszter and I’m from Budapest. Ever since I started teaching, IH has been an important part of my career. The first lesson I ever taught was during my CELTA course and this was so enjoyable that I decided to do a master’s degree in TEFL. When I started teaching in a high school in Hungary, I came back for the DELTA, too . These days I teach English in different contexts and I’m also involved in teacher training. I travel whenever I can, wherever I can because I just love to explore cities.

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Amal Pecsi
Teacher Trainer – CELTA
Hi everyone, my name is Amál and I’m from Budapest. Before moving into CELTA training, I taught English for over 15 years in different contexts and countries, to students of different levels and ages, and it’s all been a lot of fun. Most recently, I worked in Vietnam for over four years, and before that I taught in France. I love working in an international environment, which is why I really enjoy being at IH: you get to meet and work with so many interesting people from all over the world. After all these years, I’m happy to be home: Budapest is definitely one of the coolest places in Europe, particularly in the summer.

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Steve Oakes
Honorary Former Head of Teacher Training – Retired
In autumn 1988, after a number of years working in the film business in New York, I observed an ESL class near the UN, taught by volunteers. I immediately fell in love with teaching and made an instant career change, scraping by as a volunteer/lowly paid (and untrained) teacher for awhile and then going to Japan in July 1989, where I worked as a highly paid (and still largely untrained) teacher for a few years. After completing the CTEFLA (now the CELTA), I moved to Hungary at the end of 1991 and have been here since, first working as a teacher, then teacher trainer, and finally as Head of Teacher Training. I co-tutor on DELTA courses and spent a few years recently co-writing a coursebook called Speakout. I’ve made Budapest my home, and I think that everyone who comes here gets a sense of why that might be.

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Sarah Graham Juhasz
Teacher Trainer – CELTA
Sarah holds a BA in International Relations from the US, a Master’s degree in Education and International Development from the UK, and holds the Cambridge CELTA and DELTA qualifications from the Czech Republic. She has lived and worked in multiple countries and continents (Czech Republic, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Latvia, Tanzania, USA, UK, Hungary) as a teacher, trainer, examiner, education consultant, and training coordinator in the field of NGOs.

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